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College football not for the conservative at heart

Fourth and 1 from midfield. If you’re in the NFL, maybe you punt. In college football, it’s go time.
Coaches lose more games by trying not to lose. Look at Georgia Southern last season. Conservative coach, lots of close losses.
This all comes to mind because the Eagles have Chattanooga coming to town Saturday night. With a 2-point lead in the fourth quarter last season against the Mocs, Southern shut down the offense. On UTC's final drive, GSU went into a prevent defense.
And the only thing that defense prevented was a victory.
The Eagles’ 27-26 loss to Chattanooga, a team it beat 48-10 the previous year, was a sign of things to come. GSU had nearly 400 yards of offense, but couldn’t pick up a much-needed first down during its last two possessions.
My favorite example of winning a game through aggressive play calling came when Paul Johnson coached the Eagles. In a key matchup in Greenville, Furman took the opening kickoff and drove about 70 yards to about the GSU 5. On fourth and short, the Paladins kicked a field goal.
Furman chewed up about 7 ½ minutes and had a lead.
GSU started its next possession deep in its own territory. The Paladins were fired up and forced a fourth down around the Eagles 20.
Johnson, of course, went for it. The Eagles picked up the first down, eventually marched the length of the field for a touchdown and so demoralized Furman that the score was 35-3 at halftime.
OK, maybe it helps to have Adrian Peterson on your team when faced with a fourth down and short yardage.
But if you’re going to win in college football, you have to play to win.